In a mathematical simulation of his flight, they wrote: "Batman's descent is rapid, even for this high estimate for the lift coefficient. Looking at the case for gliding from a fairly tall building of height 150m, Batman can glide to a distance of about 350m, which is reasonable; the problem with the glide lies in his velocity as he reaches ground level.

"The velocity rises rapidly to a maximum of a little over 110km/hr before steadying to a constant speed of around 80km/hr. At these high speeds any impact would likely be fatal if not severely damaging (consider impact with a car travelling at these speeds).

"Clearly gliding using a batcape is not a safe way to travel, unless a method to rapidly slow down is used such as a parachute."

One of the team, David Marshall, 22, said: "If Batman wanted to survive the flight, he would definitely need a bigger cape. Or if he preferred to keep his style intact he could opt for using active propulsion, such as jets to keep himself aloft."